Grab a Stack of Rock / LeBrain Train

Cool Collectables + Helix Bass tonight on the LeBrain Train

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike & Friends

Episode 111 – Cool Collectables!  Helix bass, Rob Daniels and Harrison Kopp!

 

Tonight I’ll be showing off some previously unseen treasures of my collection.  The summer months offer a wealth of riches, including a variety of things at the cottage.  From books and magazines to toys and games, and finally my new acoustic bass formerly owned by the late Don Simmons of Helix, there will be plenty of fun things to look at tonight.  Rob from Visions In Sound, and Harrison the Man Metal Man will be on hand as well with their own treasures.

While this episode will be less focused on music than usual, it will be 100% zoomed-in on fun.

NOTE:  I am not a musician, so no song requests on the new bass!  I am a casual fan just looking to fart around to some records this summer on the porch.  We will be taking a nice close look at the bass but I will not be able to play you a song.

As always, your participation is encouraged and desired.  As David Lee Roth said, “It ain’t no good without an audience” so please like, share and join us live!

Friday June 1, 7:00 PM E.S.T.  on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

 

That was fun! Snow & Tell Cassette Friday

Though John and I both have diminished cassette collections compared to the glory days, we had more than enough to show off for an hour.  John has acquired some lovely copies of some of his favourites from Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Billy Idol, Needtobreath, Kiss, and many more.  I had some oldies from Quiet Riot, Judas Priest, Bonham, and more, but I think much more interesting were the homebrew tapes I have left.  Some are “bootlegs” that I made and some are copies of albums, but the artwork in some cases were pretty cool.  I spent a lot of time making cassette copies of things like the two Blackjack albums, 24 kt Purple by Deep Purple, and Guns N’ Roses Live at the Ritz.  We also looked at a whack of cassingles by a variety of bands, some newer releases, some cassette box sets, and more.

After the cassettes, we played a quiz game and had John guess the identity of surprise mystery guest “X”.  Well, John guessed after one clue.  But we thank “X” – aka Lana! – for joining and talking about the new Def Leppard Diamond Star Halos, and the news of a Spinal Tap farewell film.

Thanks for an awesome night John & Lana, and all who watched and participated in the comments!  See you next week – CanadianGrooves and Uncle Meat will be back for a Tenacious D – Nigel Tufnel Top Ten list show!

Cassettes! Snow & Tell on tonight’s LeBrain Train!

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike & John

Episode 109 – Cassettes “Snow & Tell”

It is true when I say that 95% of my cassettes went into a Thunder Bay landfill.  Then I misguidedly dumped more when I did some downsizing in 2019.  Only recently have I realized that there are diehard collectors (cough cough Tim Durling) out there who want albums on every format, including cassette.  They don’t necessarily play them, they just show them off.  There are a bunch of tapes I wish I kept for that reason.  Helix – Wild in the Streets with glow in the dark cassette.  Sammy Hagar self-titled with a weird cover that wrapped around the outside of the tape case.  Dozens that I recorded myself, with my own artwork on them.  All gone, forever.

Tonight, join John Snow from 2Loud2OldMusic as we gather what remains of our tapes for a truly magnetic “Snow & Tell” show!  What we have left is what you will see tonight.  A lot of mix tapes, and I hope you enjoy.  I know it’ll be fun to dig through these old cassettes.  My oldest tapes go back to about 1984.  My newest are from 2022.  John has small selection to show off as well, so join us tonight for some tapes!

Friday May 20, 7:00 PM E.S.T.  on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

Revenge of the Lists: All 11 Star Wars films discussed in detail!

Did Harrison really cause Erik and Rob to walk off the show?  Did Rob drop two “F-bombs”?  Did Harrison actually smile in the featured image?  Was this one of our best shows ever?

“It’s true.  All of it.”

Our esteemed panel of Jedi masters tonight were:

  • Erik Woods – movie and soundtrack expert
  • Robert Daniels – movie and soundtrack expert
  • Harrison Kopp – young fella who grew up on prequels and Clone Wars
  • LeBrain – old fart

Opinions veered wildly on the 11 Star Wars films we examined in great detail tonight.  While you may never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy, I also will contend you will not find a more passionate Star Wars discussion than the one we had this week.

Truly one of our best shows, and we barely scratched the surface of these films.  Perhaps a deeper dive is in order for the future.

 

Tonight! May the Rankings Be With Us: All 11 Star Wars films rated by our panel of experts!

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano and Friends

Episode 108 – All the Star Wars films, ranked!

 

This is a show that has been in the works a long time.  A long time.  I understand you’re Star Wars fans yourselves!  Then you will love this show we have lined up for you tonight.

The Nigel Tugnel Top Ten list format — a top 11 — is perfect for cases like this.  Tonight our panel of experts (top men!) will rank all 11 films (9 Saga movies plus 2 spinoffs).  This is sure to get hairy (Wookiee style) due to the diversity of the panel:

  • Erik Woods – movie and soundtrack expert
  • Robert Daniels – movie and soundtrack expert
  • Harrison Kopp – young fella who grew up on prequels and Clone Wars
  • LeBrain – old fart

Note:  We are only counting the 11 live action theatrical films, not any made-for-video films, or the animated Clone Wars (which did have a brief theatrical run).  Oh sure, Harrison might try to throw a curve ball but the rules are clear.

At the end of the night, will we have consensus?  I sure hope not!  What I do expect is plenty of lively conversation with maybe a little trash-talk.

Friday May 13, 7:00 PM E.S.T.  on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

Raise Your Fist and Yell for these Alice Cooper Deep Cuts

Thank you to Marco from the Contrarians for your awesome contributions to this week’s discussion: Alice Cooper Deep Cuts!  And thanks as always to co-host Harrison the Mad Metal Man!  Harrison really came out of the box with some obscure but still notable songs that you need to check out.  The thing about Alice Cooper is…he’s so prolific, and even on the albums you might not like as much, there are always a standout song or two.  I was surprised to find so much love for certain songs (“Roses On White Lace”, “Aspirin Damage”, “Make That Money (Scrooge’s Song)”, “Fresh Blood” and more).  Alice’s albums were well represented on these lists, with only a handful going unmentioned.  Even so, our runners-up lists covered the shadowy corners of the discography.

More thanks:  Holen & Buried On Mars with two more lists of great songs that need to be heard and appreciated more often.

If you watched this episode live, I appreciate you too!  Another great Friday night for the books!

Alice Cooper Deep Cuts – With Marco from the Contrarians, Harrison and LeBrain!

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano and Friends

Episode 107 – Alice Cooper Deep Cuts – Nigel Tufnel Top Ten lists

Tonight, please tune in to a list show over a year in the making!  Harrison the Mad Metal Man has been asking to do this theme for ages now, and we finally got the right trio to do it.  Marco from the Contrarians will be completing the panel tonight as we list off our Alice Cooper Deep Cuts.  No singles, no live concert staples.   Each of us will be listing 11 tracks for the full Nigel Tufnel Top Ten experience.

Think about it a minute.  There are all the classic Alice Cooper Band records, including the obscure opening duo of Pretties For You and Easy Action.  Not long after the classic run, the “blackout” albums that Alice doesn’t remember making.  The late 80s had their fair share of great deep cuts on Coop’s horror-themed Constrictor and Raise Your Fist and Yell.  Then we have Cooper’s entire output for the last 30 years with plenty of hidden gems.  Add in some pretty cool soundtracks and B-sides.  Yes, there will be a wealth of Alice riches tonight.

Your live participation means all the world to us, so I hope you can make it.  Go Leafs?

Friday May 6, 7:00 PM E.S.T.  on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

 

The Many Talents of Polychuck – A Special Saturday Interview

Today’s chat with Montreal’s POLYCHUCK revealed many insights to his music and career thus far.  It was a wide-ranging interview covering the following subjects and more:

  • His new single “Hero” and its personal meaning
  • The band on “Hero” and working with Derek Sherinian
  • Playing live and the complications of the pandemic
  • His next album that we can exclusively reveal is a concept record called She
  • Teaching (and a special question from Tee Bone)
  • Managing social media and how each platform has unique demands
  • Mixed martial arts
  • Cooking, yes, cooking!
  • And because we are Canadian…the weather

Support original talent like Polychuck!  The new single “Hero” is out now on all the usual platforms.  The next single drops in May, with the concept album in late 2022 or early 2023.  Keep your eye on this exciting new artist at Polychuck.com – all the links to his socials are there.

Also a special thanks to Tee Bone who wanted to co-host this episode but could not due to a natural disaster!  I used his questions and observations, which were excellent.

Tomorrow: Polychuck’s back!

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano and Tee Bone

Episode 106 – The Return of Polychuck

Polychuck has remained busy since I last spoke to him back in July of 2021.  Since that time he’s released the EP Shadows Remain, and his current single “Hero” featuring Derek Sherinian of Dream Theater on keyboards.  We can’t wait to talk to him about the song, its important meaning, and the band he has backing him on it.  This talented multi-instrumentalist has been creating a catalogue of songs that defy categorisation.  As if that wasn’t enough, he’s also a mixed martial artist!  Polychuck literally and figuratively kicks ass!

We always like to support Canadian talent, and Polychuck hails from beautiful Montreal, where he also teaches music.  Truly, the guy is inspiring and if you don’t know that already, you will this Saturday at noon on the Train.  Please join myself, Polychuck, and special co-host Tee Bone for this sure-to-be awesome episode.

Special Time!

SATURDAY April 23, 12:00 Noon E.S.T.  on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

 

 

Rapid Fire Friday with Rob, Harrison & Meat

A wonderful social gathering tonight with some rapid-fire action!  Robert Daniels stepped up to the plate at short notice to talk music, movies and TV.  We were joined by Harrison the Mad Metal Man, and Uncle Meat for some quiz fun.  It was an impromptu night of loose and entertaining chatter among friends.

Topics discussed:

  • Star Trek: Picard, The Original Series, and Animated
  • The new Ghost album Impera
  • Soundtracks
  • Van Halen, Roth & Easter
  • The Batman
  • And a random quiz of 11 questions that included audience participation answers!
  • Tons of fun!

We also played a bunch of music including the debut of a track called “Bones ‘N’ Clothes” by Plasticine, featuring Rob Szabo and Steve Strongman.  This song was very well received by our viewing audience and will definitely be heard again.

Thanks for watching!

Next week:  POLYCHUCK